Pandora Souls
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: Lily, in an attempt to save her son, calls upon the Abyss. What she unleashes will change her son's fate, as Sirius reclaims his lost heritage. Will Hogwarts still be standing when Oz and Alice masquerade as students,or has Dumbledore met his match?
1. Chapter 1

Lily was scared. He had come for her child. She knew they shouldn't have trusted the rat.

What could she do? There was no way to protect her child...unless...

She closed her eyes and felt for the power that had been passed down through the ages. A power that was both dark and light at the same time. A mad power which would give strength to any who knew how to handle it without losing themselves.

It had been passed down through the years from her many times great grandmother, Sharon.

But to awaken it now would be suicide. She heard the door crash open, and Voldemort came in.

She stood before the crib. Her son had awoken to the noise. But he didn't cry, which she knew was a good thing.

"Stand aside foolish girl!" he hissed at her.

Her cold green eyes lit up with an inner power which had dimmed in recent generations.

**_"I summon you...Equus!"_**

The black unicorn appeared before her, and she tried not to cry out from pain. It was taking everything she had to keep Equus here.

Voldemort cast the spell at her. Equus took the brunt of the deadly curse. Harry began to cry.

The horse took out the man, but not before he cast the spell on her son.

"No! Harry!"

The green eyed child looked at his mother with wide eyes. The spell had hit him, but all he had to show for it was a lightning shaped scar.

Equus turned to her. She couldn't handle his power for much longer.

"_Please...Oz, Alice, Raven, Break...protect my son!"_

Lily died as the horse vanished. Harry began to cry louder as he became an orphan.

* * *

Alice looked up from the tea party she was having with her darker sister Alyss. Someone had called on them. Someone who could command Equus.

Oz came in. He looked troubled, which was unusual in itself.

"Two of the families have just died out. Murder," said Oz.

Alyss and Alice hissed. Ever since the little incident with Pandora, Oz and Jack had kept an eye on the descendants of the four houses. For two of them to die out meant that a disaster would happen, and there would be nothing to stop it this time.

"Which ones?" asked Alice.

Oz's face grew dark.

"Bezarius and Rainsworth."

Alyss looked confused.

"_Didn't that old man marry the two of them together? With the Nightray as witness?"_ asked Alyss. Cheshire yowled from her lap.

"Yes, but from what we can tell, the child that was produced was also killed. At least, that is what it looked like."

"So the descendant of the Baskerville has killed off two of the Noble lines," said Alice.

"Dumbledore has gone too far this time," said Jack, coming in.

"_Jack!"_ said Alyss, beaming.

"Oz, get Raven and Break. The granddaughter of the Rainsworth family has called on you four," said Jack.

"The four of us specifically?" asked Oz.

"Oz, Alice, Raven and Break. Lily Rainsworth has called upon the Abyss to protect her son."

"He's alive? But that curse..." said Oz.

Jack smiled grimly.

"The Abyss doesn't want the last of the lines to die out any more than we do apparently. It shielded him and only left a scar to prove that it had been there."

Oz jumped down from his perch. He had taken to sitting on the dressers that Alyss had in her room.

"So how are we going to go about this?" asked Oz.

Jack smiled.

"Alyss, how would you like to play the part of the mother?" asked Jack.

Alyss lit up in delight.

"_Can I be the bossy mother?"_

"Of course you can," said Jack smiling. He turned to Oz and Alice.

"You two will start your protection detail when he comes in contact with the Baskerville fool."

* * *

Sirius was in shock. His best friend was dead, his wife, killed trying to protect his son. Hagrid was trying not to bawl, but Sirius went in before him.

He found little Harry, staring at him with wide eyes. Hagrid went to take him from Sirius, but he wasn't having that.

"Hagrid, James wanted me to take Harry if anything happened to them."

"Dumbledore wants him to go to his aunt's," said Hagrid firmly.

Sirius snarled.

"Like hell he will! Last time Lily took Harry with her to her sister's, the woman nearly drowned him! I will not let that senile old man send him to her house!" said Sirius.

Hagrid wasn't having that. He had orders from Dumbledore himself.

Sirius held his godson close to him. Harry seemed to sense something was wrong. He curled up closer to Sirius. Hagrid went to take the boy from Sirius, and Harry started to cry when Hagrid came too close.

He had had enough. It was obvious that Hagrid would follow any order from the old man, even when it was clear that such an action would do more harm than good.

Sirius apparated away from the mansion, and took his godson with him to the Ministry. Amelia would help him file the adoption papers. She owed him a few favors.

* * *

"Hello Sirius... How can...why do you have a child?" she said when she saw the bundle.

"Dumbledore has finally lost it. He wants to put Harry with his magic hating aunt. Hagrid tried to take him from me by force."

Amelia raised an eye at that.

"How do you know she hates magic?"

"I was with Lily last time she went to see her sister. Petunia tried to drown Harry," said Sirius. His eyes, which normally held laughter, were cold.

Amelia looked shocked at that. Never had she seen him this...well, serious.

"What do you need?"

"I need your help. Knowing that old goat, he'll try to pin James and Lily's deaths on me."

"How would he do that?"

"They were under the Fidelius charm. We used Peter as the secret keeper, since we thought he would be safer. Who would suspect Peter of knowing where to find the Potters?" said Sirius with a cold laugh.

"I'll need a sworn statement under veritaserum, and your memories of the ritual," she said promptly.

Once he could be proven innocent of the betrayal, they could file the adoption papers with ease. Sirius submitted to every request, and they filed it in triplicate.

He was declared innocent, and an hour later Amelia filed the arrest warrant for Peter. Meanwhile Sirius was trying to remember the crash course in feeding a baby that Lily made him go to. It took him a while to remember how to hold Harry.

* * *

Half an hour after Harry finally fell asleep, Remus arrived with a goblin in tow. It was Griphook, the caretaker of the Potter vaults.

"I hear you wish to file for adoption, as per their will?" said Griphook, cutting to the chase.

"Yes."

Griphook had him sign several papers, and then brought another problem to his attention.

"The headmaster seeks to gain access to the Gryffindor vault. He has already filed a claim as the boy's magical guardian."

"Did he get in?"

Griphook looked very smug.

"We informed him of you filing for adoption. He looked like his precious lemon drops had suddenly become extra sour."

Sirius laughed coldly.

Amelia came up to him. She looked irritated.

"Dumbledore is trying to stop the process. He's claiming that the Black family isn't appropriate for the last of the Potters."

Sirius looked annoyed, then an idea hit him.

"His problem is with the Black family? Nothing else?" asked Sirius.

She nodded, wary. Sirius smirked.

"Then he should have no problem with the last of the Nightray family adopting a Rainsworth," said Sirius, smugly.

The sharp intake of breath from Griphook said it all.

"This boy is a Rainsworth?"

"Rainsworth and Bezarius," said Sirius.

Griphook laughed coldly.

"Dumbledore has no control over the Rainsworth family. Let alone the Nightray. I'll inform the head goblin about the name change."

* * *

Sirius walked out of the Ministry with a cocky smirk. The papers had gone through once he informed the goblins of his heritage. There was no way Dumbledore could stop him from keeping Harry.

That is, until the old man appeared in front of him, furious.

"Did you really think I would allow you to just take the boy and run, Black?"

Sirius stilled. He couldn't fight Dumbledore with Harry in his arms. Remus had left an hour ago to prepare the house.

Harry squirmed in his arms. He sensed there was danger nearby.

Before Dumbledore could stun him and take Harry, a black shadow appeared. It was bird like in shape, and covered the moon's waning glow.

Sirius glanced up. And tried not to gasp. It was a large raven.

Something dropped down. A large rabbit shape with a wicked looking red scythe.

"_Did you really think we would allow someone like you to destroy the last of the lines?"_ it said coldly.

Sirius felt someone come up from behind him. A man with shoulder length raven-black hair and gold eyes looked at him with amusement.

"The rabbit will keep _him_ (he nods to Dumbledore) busy. So hurry up and get on," he said.

Sirius had to make a quick decision. He could either trust this strange people or he could deal with Dumbledore himself. Harry woke up and reached his tiny hand out to the golden eyed man. He seemed happy to see him.

Sirius got on the rather large bird. A boy about fifteen looked at him with complete amusement.

"If it makes you feel any better, Lily asked us to protect him," said the boy.

Dumbledore seemed to sense that they were getting away, because he sent a stunner at the bird. The Raven absorbed the spell and didn't even flinch.

"Get on you stupid rabbit! We're leaving!" the man shouted.

The rabbit became a young girl, and they flew. Dumbledore cursed, and went to get a broom. They weren't leaving that easily!

* * *

"So who the bloody hell are you?" asked Sirius once they were in the air.

"That's a fine way to treat your ancestor," said the man annoyed.

"What?"

"Now, now Gilbert. He doesn't know who we are," said the boy calmly.

The girl/rabbit huffed annoyed.

"My name is Oz. Her name is Alice. And Mr. Grumpy over there is Gilbert," said Oz.

"Sirius. Sirius Black."

"Don't you mean Sirius Nightray and Harry Bezarius-Rainsworth?" said Oz smirking.

Sirius held back a growl. How did this kid know about that?

"Perhaps I should have given my full name. My name is Oz Bezarius."

"Gilbert Nightray," said Gil annoyed.

Alice huffed, annoyed at being ignored. So she did something that only Oz would expect.

She took Harry and let him play with her hair. She had in long braids that the child simply loved to pull.

Sirius debated whether it was safe to trust them or not. Then realized that he was probably dealing with the lesser of two evils. Oz sensed that, and said "Well now that you trust us a little, where are we heading? Alyss and Jack are eager to meet the last of the Bezarius family."

Sirius described the cottage well enough that Gilbert flew the Raven to it. Remus was in complete shock when he saw the large bird land in the yard.

"What did you do now?" he demanded.

Oz laughed, and helped Alice come down. The Raven vanished into the night as Gilbert got down.

Sirius took Harry from Alice, and they all went inside.

* * *

Oz looked perfectly at ease in the cottage, while Alice looked mutinous. Raven looked bored, but he sat very close to Oz. Remus looked bewildered about the whole thing.

Sirius took Harry into his new room and made sure the wards around the house were fully powered before he left the boy alone to sleep. It had been a very, very long day for them all.

"Why don't we start with who you three are?" said Remus.

_One round of introductions and explanations later..._

"So essentially you three are people fourteen hundred years from the past," said Remus.

Sirius took it in stride. He had found out through the family library that his lineage went back at least fifteen hundred years. His mother refused to acknowledge anything but the Black family name.

Which was why Sirius had changed his name in secret to Nightray when he left. Only the goblins were aware of that though.

"Where we came through is a place where time is no longer linear. One can enter into it during the crusades and pop out in the present without aging more than a year, if that," said Oz.

"And why have you appeared now?"

Raven looked annoyed. Alice looked hungry.

"Because one of our descendants asked us to protect her son. Since he _is_ the last of two lines, we were more than happy to oblige. Though Jack and I are more than a little irritated with that old man at the moment."

"Why would you be annoyed with Dumbledore?" asked Remus.

"Because Albus Dumbledore-Baskerville caused several of the children in both lines to die of unnatural causes."

"Baskerville? Dumbledore is a Baskerville?" said Sirius, finally paying attention.

Raven was surprised now.

"How do you know that name?"

Sirius got up and retrieved something from the bookshelf. It was a tattered old book that looked ancient. When Oz opened it, it turned out to be a journal...written by Vincent.

"Where did you get this?" asked Raven.

"Found it when I was twelve in the family library. My mother wanted me to study some dark spells and 'live up to the family name' or some such rubbish. Instead I found that and read it," said Sirius with a shrug.

Remus stared at the book. It clicked with him, and he remembered a similar find at Hogwarts. He went and retrieved three other books that were written by a man named Liam, Oscar and a woman named Ada.

Oz seemed surprised to find Ada and Oscar's diaries.

Remus looked at them shrewdly.

"Are you three the same Raven, Oz and Alice they spoke of?" he asked.

"Probably. If these are the same people," said Oz, getting up.

Raven and Alice looked at him.

"We only showed up to protect Harry. In fact we'll probably join him on the train," said Oz.

Raven and Alice sputtered.

"What?" said Alice.

"We're too old!" said Raven, equally upset.

Oz smirked at them.

"We'll be wearing age charms and Raven will be teaching defense. Or Break will," said Oz.

"Why do you always drag us into this?" whined Raven.

"Because you let me?" said Oz.

"What about Break. He never showed up," said Alice.

Sirius and Remus showed some unease at the knowledge that there was another.

"Jack told him to pop in every now and then to make sure the old man hasn't taken Harry by force," said Oz.

"How exactly will he pop in?" asked Remus.

Oz, Alice and Raven suddenly grinned. Behind Sirius was a rather large cabinet...which suddenly opened.

Sirius and Remus jumped when someone spoke from behind.

"Have you three been talking about me?" asked a white haired man with one red eye visible.

"It's about time you showed up you stupid clown!" said Alice.

"Break, have you been listening this whole time?" asked Oz.

"Ever since the wolf showed up to add the wards."

"How...?" sputtered Remus.

The three shrugged.

"Break always appears like that. We're not exactly sure _how_ he does it. He won't tell us, even when we bribe him with sugary candy," said Oz.

Raven looked amused at the looks Sirius and Remus were shooting Break.

"You may as well relax. Break is loyal to the Rainsworth family. He was also very close with Harry's many times great grandmother Sharon."

That relaxed them a little. Until Break pulled his favorite vanishing act into the potions cupboard. Sirius and Remus ran to the cupboard and were very surprised to find that he wasn't there anymore. Oz and the others laughed.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry played with the present that his cousin Oz brought him. It was a special medallion with weird symbols on it. The happy go lucky six year old adored his family.

Uncle Sirius, who took him in. Uncle Remus, who always had to whack Uncle Sirius on the head for getting too out of hand most days. Uncle Jack, who always brought fun presents and his cousin Oz. Uncle Raven, who let him fly on his big bird. Cousin Oz, who always helped him bully Uncle Raven with his fear of cats.

Alice, who was loads of fun. Aunt Alyss, who simply adored him.

Then there were the two oddballs. Break and Cheshire.

Break was a lot of fun, because he always had candy on him, and his puppet Emily was silly.

Cheshire was weird, but in a good way because he let Harry play with him...even if he did have some very long claws. Harry didn't know where his Aunt Alyss found such a strange cat.

Life was good for Harry. Sirius and Remus loved him and taught him stuff. Oz and Break would show up every once in a while to teach him something new or to simply play. Alice would always follow Oz around.

(According to Break, Alice and Oz were betrothed. Harry didn't understand what he meant, but took life as it was.)

"What are we going to learn today Oz?" asked Harry.

Oz smiled.

"Today we learn how to summon the beast inside the medallion," said Oz.

Harry was practically vibrating. Oz had promised that he would show Harry how to summon creatures like that huge black rabbit that sometimes showed up. It was so cool! (He didn't know that his opinion on the large rabbit cracked Jack and Oz up.)

"What's it called?" asked Harry.

"Equus. He's a black unicorn who specializes in spying on people from their shadows."

Harry vaguely remembered another black unicorn, but dismissed it.

Sirius watched the entire thing with amusement. Ever since that horrific night that Harry lost his parents, he had learned more about his family history than he thought possible. Raven was at least a sympathetic teacher about how to summon.

He was a really good babysitter when the moon became full. It was a source of amusement that Oz and the others drew straws on who would babysit Harry those nights.

As Sirius watched with Raven, he enjoyed a relaxing cup of tea. Remus was getting the groceries (thankfully they had enough money to afford meat for Alice), Alice was playing with Cheshire, and Break was doing whatever he did.

(Which at the moment consisted of buying out Honeyduke's entire stock of chocolate frogs.)

A strange circle sprang up beneath Harry's feet and Sirius nearly jumped. He stared as his godson brought forth a large black unicorn stallion.

Oz and Raven seemed very surprised.

"What is that?" asked Sirius in shock.

"Equus. The Chain that belongs to the Rainsworth family," said Raven in equal shock.

The horse nuzzled up to little Harry, who laughed. Oz got over his shock long enough to congratulate Harry. It was around that time that Remus and Alice returned.

* * *

"Oz, how did Harry managed to summon Equus on the first try?" asked Raven when they left.

"I don't know."

Alyss came up with a large smile.

"It's because he was already tied to little Harry thanks to his mother. He just needed the old medallion to summon him on his own," said Jack.

"He is aware that a Chain is a dangerous creature, right?" asked Raven.

"I told him that the primary use for Equus was spying and that he shouldn't have him out all the time or he would scare his friends," Oz assured him.

Harry was friends with the strangest people. Sirius and Remus had made sure that their nephew/son had met all sorts of people from the magical community. Some Harry took to, others he didn't.

Like Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom. Neville had nearly lost his parents to Sirius's unpleasant cousin Bellatrix.

It was only through the intervention of Alyss that they had been spared. Apparently the Longbottom clan was also descended from one of the four Great houses.

Still, even with Alyss' intervention, both of his parents were gravely injured. His father had walked with a limp ever since that night.

Then there was Draco Malfoy. It was more of a rivalry with him than a friendship.

The only family that Harry had mixed relations with was the Weasly clan. While he got along fine with the twins and the two oldest brothers, he couldn't stand Ron or Ginny. Percy was a problem, but Harry was pretty much indifferent to him.

Too bad he couldn't be left alone at their house. Sirius knew full well if he left Harry alone at the house for even a night that Molly or Arthur would take his godson straight to Dumbledore.

* * *

Harry sat quietly as he read the books that Oz had given him. He was as addicted to the _Holy Knight_ series as Oz was. Remus enjoyed the times Harry read the book, because that usually meant Sirius had calmed down.

Much to the hound's amusement, Oz had left the entire series for his descendants to read in the Bezarius vault. The only problem being that they didn't know about it until now.

Harry closed the book and reached for the next volume. Before he could get back to the story, there was a crash outside.

"Oh no...not again..." said Remus with a groan.

Sure enough, outside was Sirius' son. He had crashed into yet another tree. His long black hair fell all over his face.

"Elliot, how many times have I told you not to fly your broom?" said Sirius.

Elliot laughed nervously. Even though he was the product of a fling from Sirius' younger years and only recently found out who his father was, Sirius still let him visit. His mother, while stuck in prison for having the Dark Mark, had only told him about Sirius because Elliot wouldn't leave her alone about his father.

Sirius at least held nothing against the boy for having a Death Eater for a mother. So long as his son didn't bug him to get her released. Elliot lived with his grandparents ten miles away.

"Sorry dad...but I wanted to play with Harry!"

Harry's ears perked up.

"No flying. Not until you overcome that vertigo problem," said Sirius calmly.

Harry ran into his room and grabbed the soccer ball that Dean had given him for his birthday.

"Let's play Elliot!"

"No leaving the property!" Sirius shouted at them. The wards extended for four miles around the house.

"Yeah yeah!" Elliot and Harry shouted back.

Soon the boys ran out chasing the ball.

* * *

"Elliot, Sirius said not to leave the property," said Harry uncertain.

Sirius had taken great pains to mark the edges of the wards. The red spider lilies marked the end.

"But we need our ball," answered Elliot. While he was a few months older than Harry, he often let the younger boy lead them.

"Yeah, but it went past the edges."

"I can't climb that ridge, and I know dad would be angry if I let you go."

Harry turned. He felt a presence nearby. One he didn't like at all.

"Maybe we can asked Uncle Remus if he could get it," suggested Harry. Elliot noticed the frightened sound in his voice.

"What's wrong?"

"Something's here. Something bad."

Elliot listened, and heard a crunch of something on the leaves. An old man appeared.

"Is this your ball?" he asked, holding up the black and white ball.

"Yes..." said Harry, uncertain.

The old man held it out to him. But Harry had a really, really bad feeling about him. Even Elliot picked up the bad vibe.

"You can take it. I'm not going to bite," he said kindly. His blue eyes twinkled in the gloom.

Harry sensed a familiar presence appear behind him. He did his best to discreetly look for Break.

"You might not, but Cheshire will," said Harry. He ran, and Elliot followed him.

The old man turned. And cursed.

Break and Cheshire were standing behind him in his human form, their lone red eyes glaring at him. He had his sword out.

Before the old man could apparate out, Cheshire took a swipe at him, cutting his robes off at the knees. The ball fell. The man vanished with a crack.

Break made sure he was no where near and took the ball to the boys.

"Now now...there's no reason to be afraid of little ol' me," said Break, amused. Both of the boys looked ready to bolt.

He handed them the ball, and they went out of the woods and into the field.

Break did his favorite vanishing act and reappeared in the house.

Sirius and Remus were so used to his sudden appearances that they rarely reacted anymore.

"The Baskerville showed up."

Sirius nearly dropped his glass.

_"WHAT?"_

"Relax. I got rid of him pretty quick, but I don't think this location is very safe anymore."

Dumbledore had left them alone all this time. Sirius fully credited the fact that the land was Unplottable for that. For him to show up now, after five years...

"The boys won't be happy. We'll have to move," said Remus.

"Especially Elliot. Those two are almost inseparable..." said Sirius.

"Toss you," said Remus.

"Like hell. I'm the one who has to go talk to the Becketts. You tell them."

Remus winced.

"You owe me for this. Where should we meet up?" asked Remus.

Sirius turned to Break.

"Do you know if the Grimmauld place is livable?"

Break made a face.

"I wouldn't recommend it unless you had someone go in there with flamethrower. The cobwebs are vicious."

Sirius had found out through the goblins that his parents were finally dead. Which made him officially Lord Black. Not that he cared for the title.

"Guess it's time to call in a few friends..."

* * *

Elliot was surprised that his grandparents agreed to let him stay the night. Normally they wanted him home early.

When the sleepover lasted for three days, he knew something was up. They boys got to hang out with Oz and Alice every day. Harry and Elliot knew that something big was happening.

The house was a hive of activity. Finally Elliot confronted Remus.

"Uncle Remus, what's going on?"

Remus knew this would happen. He just hadn't looked forward to the eventual confrontation.

"We're moving."

"WHAT!" said the boys in unison.

"Why?" asked Harry upset.

"Sirius and I agree that it's time for a change of pace. So we're moving to London within the month."

They looked so disappointed. Especially Elliot, since Harry was his best friend.

That was when Remus dropped the other bombshell.

"Elliot...you're coming with us."

"But what about...?"

"Your grandparents agreed. So long as you remember to owl them regularly," said Remus.

"Will I still get to see mum?"

"Raven has agreed to take you to see her whenever you want to."

A sudden thought hit Elliot.

"I have to go pack!" he said in a panic.

Remus smiled.

"Harry, you will be going with Oz and Alice to help him. We'll get all your things here."

Harry looked excited for the first time since they had learned the news. He rarely got to spend any time with Elliot's grandparents. And he had never spent the night over.

They raced over to the other house.

* * *

Sirius winced when he saw the state of the house. He knew it had been a good idea to call in reinforcements. Kingsley Shacklebolt, Andromeda Tonks, Alice Longbottom, and Molly Weasly all looked at the place in disbelief.

"I knew it was going to be bad, but this is ridiculous," said Sirius.

They all looked at him in shock.

Sirius shrugged.

"The sooner we get started, the sooner this is over with. The curtains look like they have doxies, there's a boggart in the third floor cupboard, and if you aren't sure about something, put it in the living room. I'll go through it later."

It took them four whole days of nonstop casting, but they made it somewhat livable for children. Though it was obvious that the house was fighting back.

Centuries of a dark depressing atmosphere wasn't going to vanish overnight. Sirius didn't like it, but he was going to deal with it one way or another.

He cheerfully bought them all a round of strong drinks for their help (and the assurances that several favors had been called in). Molly wasn't too happy about the house, but Sirius refused to let her sway his mind.

* * *

Elliot and Harry stared at their new home in trepidation. If they had to chose between the small cottage in the country and Grimmauld place, they would chose the cottage in a heartbeat.

But it was at least habitable. Sirius had payed an entire goblin team to check the wards and remove several dangerous objects a week before the boys were scheduled to come.

(As it was, the goblin team got rid of five cursed items and a soul piece that Sirius hadn't been aware of. He assumed it belonged to his grandfather, who had made at least three of the evil things.)

Kreacher wasn't too happy about the change either. Even though Sirius had finally allowed him a room of his own to store all the things he wanted to keep. It was the only way to shut him up.

Dobby on the other hand loved the new arrangements. Sirius had traded the strange elf for one of the jewelry boxes that Narcissa wanted. (Andromeda had already claimed all the pieces she had liked.)

Since Sirius was actually a kind master, Dobby kept the pantry full and the laundry clean. In exchange for not mutilating himself, Dobby was allowed to do the laundry. In the words of Sirius, that kind of behavior would upset the boys too much.

Break liked the new house. It had more cabinets, cupboards and crawl spaces that he could mysteriously appear from. Well...once he outed the three boggarts from the cupboards anyway.

Raven looked rather disturbed that this was what his family had come to. He knew the Nightray had been a rather shadowy house, but this place took it to extremes. And the portrait in the front hall irritated him something fierce.

Sirius had been very unhappy to learn that his mother had left her portrait in the front hall. And to make it worse she had placed a permanent sticking charm on the back...almost like she knew he would one day return.

Evil old crone.

Fortunately for his sanity, Alice took care of it the moment she learned of the horrid thing. Walpurga Black was a harpy and a bad woman, but even she couldn't compete with the Bloody Black Rabbit's scythe. After Alice had ripped it in half, Sirius had breathed a sigh of relief.

Kreacher of course had been horrified by the vandalism. No one paid any mind to him.

* * *

Sirius came into the kitchen with rolls of something. Elliot and Harry stared at them in confusion. Yesterday they had picked their rooms and gotten most of their things into them.

"Pick what kind of wallpaper you want. We're redecorating the house. And that means we're upgrading the bedrooms."

That cheered them up. They had wondered if they would have to sleep on the ancient mattresses that had been there for over a hundred years (and never cleaned once.)

Harry picked a rather fun star and moon motif for his walls, while Elliot picked a dark cloudy sky. Remus came in with several boxes and two large rolls of what appeared to be carpet.

When all was said and done, the house was definitely a bit more cheerful.

Harry's room had an accurate depiction of the night sky, complete with constellations. His floor was covered in a warm dark green carpet with a forest look, and his windows had black out curtains so he could sleep in.

Elliot had a room that looked like he was flying. His carpet was a sky blue that went along with his new wallpaper. He also had blackout curtains that were covered in sky colored drapes. He had his practice broom hanging on the wall.

Sirius had updated his old room with a red and gold color scheme. His carpet was warm and inviting. Remus had done a similar scheme, only his was decorated in Ravenclaw colors and a wolf motif.

The living room was a warm red color with silver highlights and a new rug. The couches and mattresses were thrown out and replaced. Even the kitchen table had been taken out.

Sirius had taken pictures with a camera and when they were finished, had taken more. The change was startling. From dark and gloomy to bright and cheerful.


End file.
